What is recorded here

Kealduff Upper holds three cup-and-ring motifs carved into a smooth sandstone boulder, arranged like a trefoil beneath the Seefin and Droum Mountains. A curious radial groove curves around the southern motif and seems to continue toward the others, as if marking a boundary or recording a event now lost. The marks remain sharp enough for a modern hand to trace their depth, connecting today’s viewer to someone who stood on that same heath slope and chose to make a permanent line in stone.

In mountain heath, amongst rock scatter, on a gentle NE-facing slope; Field fence is c. 19m to SSE. Good views of Behy river valley to NE with Seefin and Droum Mountains in background. A smooth and unfractured, sandstone boulder (dims. 1.4m N-S; 0.96m E-W; H 0.6m at E) which is roughly trapezoidal in plan. It has a subrectangular-shaped decorated surface (dims. 0.45m N-S; 0.45m E-W) with motifs upon the NE-facing aspect. The motifs are in good condition and clearly visible in the right light. The decorative elements consist of three cup-and-two-ring motifs, roughly similar in size and form and arranged in a trefoil shape. The lower cup-and-two-ring motif (diam. 18cm) at E has a cupmark (diam. 5cm; D 4mm) and rings (Wth 2.5cm; D 2-3mm). The second cup-and-two-ring motif (diam. 18cm) at W is slightly smaller than the other two motifs. The third cup-and-two-ring motif (diam. 18cm) at S has a radial groove (Wth 1-2cm; D 3mm) extending from E, which curves around the exterior of this motif and appears to continue, where it also encloses the S and W motifs. A single cupmark (diam. 5cm; D 5mm) is c. 5cm to S of the trefoil formation. Compiled by: Alison McQueen and Vera Rahilly Date of upload: 26 January 2018

Likely dating to the Neolithic or Bronze Age, the rock art may have held symbolic or ritual significance, possibly relating to landscape features or territorial markers. Its location offers strategic visibility, suggesting a connection to navigation, communication, or spiritual practices in the mountainous terrain.

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